Originally published in 1923, The Ship that Sailed to Mars by William M. Timlin is quite a drastic shift from the children books we usually carry at the Librairie. What began as a story to entertain the author's son Billy, continued over the course of two years to quickly become an obsessive personal project. I contend this is how all great books begin...

There's charm, wonder, excitement, and intrigue thoughtfully embedded in this handsome treasure chest of a book. The Ship that Sailed to Mars also contains 48 gorgeous detailed watercolours by Timlin depicting the fantastical story.

The book is about an old man who, with the help of fictional creatures, builds a boat that sails off to Mars. Check out this text! Each page is delicately written in type I can only dream of dream of enacting.